I1: Rethinking the heritage of extraction, energy and waste infrastructures in the Anthropocene
Tracks
1
| Wednesday, December 2, 2026 |
| 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM |
| RHLT1 |
Overview
Stream: Climate, Environmental Justice and Resilience
Paper / Session Submitter
Professor Rodney Harrison
Professor Of Heritage Studies
University College London
Rethinking the heritage of extraction, energy and waste infrastructures in the Anthropocene
Summary Abstract
This session aims to explore the potential for heritage and museums to become agents for radical forms of climate action, through exposing the interconnections between extraction, energy and waste infrastructures and the crises of the contemporary moment, to find alternatives to present practices, and to support citizen confidence in the transitions which will be required to achieve them. To do this, the session will bring heritage and heritage studies into conversation with the fields of energy humanities, environmental humanities and climate activism. Taking a relational and more-than-human approach to understanding the dynamics of heritage processes, papers in the session seek to highlight the potential for alternative forms of curating and storytelling to transform the relationship between people, their heritage, fossil fuels and waste.
Biographies
Geneviève Godin is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellow at the UCL Institute of Archaeology carrying out research at the intersection of monstrosity and anthropogenic waste. Her interests include contemporary archaeology, queer ecology, urban heritage, and non-human agency.
Rodney is Professor of Heritage Studies at UCL. He has undertaken research in Australia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, the Middle East, UK and continental Europe. His current research explores how heritage/museums can support racial justice and action for climate empowerment in the context of biodiversity/climate crises.
Janna oud Ammerveld works as a postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University on the Horizon Europe PITCH project. Her research focuses on the heritage of gas extraction in Groningen (NL). She received her PhD in critical heritage studies from UCL on the intersections of climate change and heritage policy work.
Colin Sterling is Assistant Professor of Heritage, Museums and the Environment at the University of Amsterdam, where he leads the BA in Global Arts, Culture and Politics. Colin’s research focuses on the political and ecological dimensions of heritage and museums in the past and the present.
